The secret life of handmade art dolls

May 13, 2009

Pretty Miss D.

Well, it didn't take me long to fall off the post-every-three-days wagon...I guess I forgot the rigours of academic courses. I love the class I'm taking (American Gothic) but it does entail about about 100 pages of reading a day, and I'm a slow reader, so that translates into several hours of reading per day. But it's fascinating stuff; we just finished Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables, about the legacy of a puritan who accuses a man of witchcraft in order to wrest his property from him. It teeters on absurdity at points, but is a great read nevertheless, if you like incredibly verbose, extravagant 19th-century prose, which I do. The real House is in Salem, Hawthorne's birthplace, but is not nearly as interesting-looking as one would imagine it after reading the book; the book cover is much more evocative.I already have some pictures of doll versions of Hepzibah and Alice Pyncheon forming in my mind....

Some weeks ago I was contacted by the lovely Diana who asked me to make a custom portrait doll of herself. You will see from these pictures of her why I would be happy to say yes:

She has stunning eyes and a sweet but somewhat mysterious smile, so while I'm incapable of making smiling dolls, I tried to capture some of that mystery in her doll.

I still need to give her a richer skin tone, and get the darker make-up around the eyes, as well as finish an adorable little outfit that Diana designed herself. I'll post some final pictures when she's all dressed, properly wigged and has her face on!

11 Comments

I love that book! My family is originally from Salem and unfortunately they were there when all the witch trials were going on and a few of my female ancestors were hung for no good reason. Strange days and very sad.

I love your new doll! She is fantastic! I often make dolls as "portrait dolls" and love to try to blend my style with what the client wants and hope that they love the final result. I know that Diana will be so happy!

I am beginning to make dolls with paper clay. I bought some clay and did some sculpting...boo...The clay cracked so badly. What kind of clay do you use. Where can I find eyes at a reasonable price. Your dolls are so cool!